Hydraulic gear



Sept 14, 1937.

H FGTTINGER HYDRAULIC GEAR Flled Apnl 4, 1932 Patented Sept. 14, 1937 UNITED STATES HYDRAULIC GEAR Hermann Fiittinger, Berlin-Wllmersdori.

Germany Application April In I 4, 1932, Serial No. 603,174

Germany April 8, 1931 1 Claim.

The invention relates to fluid gears for vehicles, hoists etc. of the type described in the Patents 1,199,359 to 1,199,364, consisting of a fluid, a turbine impeller on a primary shaft and one or more ing a closed circuit. There are two main types: The first or coupling-type is characterized by the absence of any stationary guide vanes or guide wheels, and is suitable for transmissionsl 1 10 and equal primary and secondary torques; its disadvantage is the impossibility of giving an increased secondary tprque for starting, climbing hills etc.

The second or transmission-type" contains one 15 or more stationary guide wheels fixed to the casing or frame, thus furnishing the necessary reaction moment foraugmenting the primary torque up to considerably higher secondary torques. The disadvantage of this type is. the lower efliciency, arising beyond the normal speed of the secondary shaft.

The object of the present invention is an improved type of hydraulic gears combining the useful-features of the two former types, without 25 embodying the complication and drawbacks oi.

former attempts in this line.

These attempts consisted in arranging side by side a mechanical clutch or a hydraulic "coupling'? in combination with a hydraulic trans- 3 mission circuit described above. either of which was operated by filling with water or oil, the other being made inactive by emptying.

The simplest form of the new gear consists of a primary, a secondary and a stationary guidewheel in combination in such a way that the latter can be madeentirely inactive by local displacement of its vanes or blades, by removing the whole guide apparatus out of the way of the fluid. By removing the guide wheel the "trans- 40 mission-circuit is hanged into a "cou circuit of the features described above. the necessity of using separate circuits to be fllled and emptied by pumps or tanks etc.

In former 45 been uide rings so that one or the other should act in the fluid circuit, for instance for going ahead or astern. In the present case the range of displacement is so large that the guide wheel is moved entirely out of the fluid passage or circuit.

The invention is illustrated diagrammatically and by way of 'example on the accompanying drawing in which tion th wsh a three stage fluid gear that em- 55 bodies the invention.-

In the drawing, the reference numeral l identitles the primary or driving shaft which carries the primaryorimpellerwheeli.

wheels on a secondary shaft, formpatents of the inventor there had proposed to displace a combination of 2 or 3- the single view is an axial sec-' The secondary or driven shaft 3 has flxed thereto, thedisk I which carries the wheels la, b. 5c of a. multistage secondary or turbine wheel. The inner edges of, the turbine wheels are connected by the ring sections 40, and a rotating casing for the assembly is formed by casing sections I and 4| that are rigidly secured to the outer turbine wheel 5a.. The non-rotating guide wheels 90, 9b are carried by a disk ID that can be shifted along the stationary sleeve I 2 by means, illustrated schematically as a lever it, that is mounted on the stationary hollow body it. The guide wheels may be positioned entirely within the chamber formed by casing section 8, as shown in full lines, or in the dotted line position 20 between the stages ia, lb and lb, be, respectively, of the turbine wheel.

A location of the guide wheels within the chamber corresponds to the running of the gear as a clutch or hydraulic coupling, and this condition is appropriate when power is transmitted from shaft I to shaft 3 at high speed. For lower speed and higher torque, the non-rotating guide wheels are shifted into the dotted line position 20 where they form a part of the active fluid circuit. The fluid gear now operates as a. multistage changespeed gear.

The guide wheel II is subjected to a moment of reaction that is about equal to the diiference between the secondary and the primary moments, which can be taken up by such means as shown and described in my United States Patent 1,199,861, the means therein disclosed rendering possible an easy axial shifting in spite of the existence of strongest reaction forces.

I claim:

A fluid torque converter reductions comprising an impeller wheel on a driving shaft, a turbine wheel on a driven shaft, a non-rotatable guide wheel having blades adapts ed in cooperation with said impeller wheel to drive said turbine wheel in the'dircction of rotation of said impeller wheel, and means for axially displacing said guide wheel axially with respect to'both said impeller and said turbine wheels into an inoperative position outside of the fluid circuit ofsaid impeller wheel and turbine wheel, thereby to transform the torque converter circuit into a fluid coupling circuit of the same sense of rotation having a theoretical 1 to 1 ratio and producing an unchanged torque: said turbine wheel and said guide wheel being multistage wheels each comprising spaced sections, the sections of the guide wheel being positioned between sections of said turbine wheel when the guide wheel is adjusted for torque converter operation.

adapted to effect speed HIRMANN rb'rmwm. 

